He’s Canadian

I first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of my father and for reasons which don’t need exploring at this juncture, I have remained, attached as liaison to the Canadian consulate.

Photo Credit - images.art.com

You probably don’t know what show that quote is from, and I don’t expect you to, since it’s from the mid 90′s and it was aired primarily in Canada. If you do, I’m certainly impressed. Anyway,due South is my all-time favorite television show.

Essentially two polar opposites come together in a comical cop show involving Chicago detective Ray Vecchio (David Marciano) , a very in-your-face person and Constable Benton Fraser (Paul Gross), a morally stable Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman.

Fraser, the lead character is the one whose quote appears above and that’s the phrase he uses when he introduces himself every single time somebody asks him why he’s in Chicago, which happens to be quite frequently.

Fraser humorously encompasses all of the stereotypical Canadian quirks such as excessive politeness and the inability to lie. He attracts the ladies with his heroic acts and seems to know every Canadian. His favorite lines include “thank you kindly,” when faced with even the rudest people and a simple “oh dear” when up against a insurmountable challenge. Whenever somebody asks why he is so nice, polite, considerate, or simply out of place, Vecchio simply says “He’s a Canadian.”

The policemen duo is thrown together after Fraser travels south from the Northwest Territories to check the progress of the murder case of his legendary father, Bob Fraser, which was being handled by Detective Vecchio. Fraser opts to stay in Chicago long after the murderers are caught in the episode “Bird in Hand.”

Throughout the series, Fraser’s father appears (though still “quite dead”) to offer advice, although some of the advice is so useless that it causes Fraser to ask his father if there are physciatrists in the afterlife and if one is needed. Only those that Bob Fraser wishes to see him can see him, which is only a very select few, everyone else can only hear Fraser’s one sided conversations and deems him insane.

1973 Green Riviera Photo Credit - home.hiwaay.net

Fraser and Vecchio constantly fight crime in many scenarios with Fraser’s deaf, lip-reading half wolf named Dief. In some cases they track clues that appear in the form of toy baby carriages, or help a old man desperate to serve his country as a spy, while his wife is one of the most wanted spies in the world. They also have a tendency to destroy Detective Vecchio’s beloved 1973 green riviera, so he keeps purchasing new ones to replace then ones that were blown up.

Fraser and Vecchio each take bullets, literally, for each other. Although at the beginning they had their rough patches, they become best friends while chasing murders and car thief’s, though nothing is as it first appears. In the meantime Fraser shows his over-politeness by always holding the door for every person that walks by or holding the elevator so long they have to catch the next one, which gets Vecchio extremely annoyed.

Anyway, to really understand what I’m talking about, I’d recommend looking for some of the episodes online. I’ve compiled a small list of my favorite quotes, that you can laugh at even if you’ve never seen the show before.

1) ”I think the person who invented pantyhose should be brought up on charges of cruelty, sadism, and reckless endangerment.” Benton Fraser in Some Like It Red. I completely agree with this quote.

The new Vecchio and the original Vecchio Photo Credit - home.hiwaay.net/

2) “Muldoon, one of the foulest scum to ever walk the Earth. Next to Howard Stern that is.” Buck Frobisher in the Call of the Wild

3) “I don’t imagine the death penalty would be an effective deterent for potential suicides.” Benton Fraser, I don’t quite remember what episode though.

4) “I’ve been to Toronto. Trust me, nothing can survive there.” Francesca, in Mounty on the Bounty.

5) “There is nothing more frustrating than playing hide and seek with a deaf wolf” Benton Fraser, one of the episodes.

Perhaps I’ve peaked your interest a bit. The show was never a big hit in the United States, the last few seasons were only aired in Canada, they did not think they’d even be able to continue making them, so the original Ray Vecchio left and had to be replaced.

There are now rumors of a European company trying to make a few more episodes, so perhaps be on the lookout. I am fully aware that most of you will think that I am crazy, it’s okay I’ve heard it before, so feel free to say it again.

Gwendol’s Side Note – Do I have any due South fans out there, or anybody whose even heard of this show?

Great piece on my fav T.V. show. Just went out and bought the whole thing so I’d have it handy whenever I needed a D.S. fix. Thanks for posting–this is definitely “family friendly,” but at the same time, it’s also definitely coming straight out of some very far out left field. Witty, charming and endearing–habit-forming! Not to mention the terrific song-track…and the personable actors. Paul Gross, as Constable Fraser, has now invaded by dream space.